January 1995 Kansas Water Levels and Data Related to Water-Level Changes

Abstract

Water levels measured in January 1995 showed the effects of the decline in annual precipitation over most of Kansas during 1994. The 1995 sample exhibited an average water-level decline of 1.7 ft (52 cm) since the 1994 measurement. This is probably due to a decline in recharge and an increase in irrigation pumping during 1994 compared to the wet year of 1993. The single largest rise in water level was 16.2 ft (4.93 m), and the largest decline was 29.9 ft (9.11 m). Annual water-level declines outnumbered rises 80% to 19% for wells in this report. Regional breakdowns of the data indicate a similar pattern, with small average annual water-level declines. In all regions, wells with annual declines greatly outnumbered wells with annual rises. For all regions except region I (Southwestern Kansas), this is a reversal of the trend toward rising water levels observed over the last two years. The greatest change (from rise to decline) occurred in the northern, central, and eastern portions of region V (South-central Kansas).